FAA clears 737 MAX output to 47 jets monthly

Boeing said on May 27 that it had passed a Federal Aviation Administration “capstone” review and begun running its 737 MAX line at a rate of 47 aircraft a month, up from 42 previously. CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company would need several months to stabilize at that pace. The FAA said it supports the increase after inspectors conducted extensive reviews of Boeing’s production lines. The move is the latest step in Boeing’s effort to rebuild output after the January 2024 Alaska Airlines door-plug blowout triggered tighter federal oversight. ### What exactly did the FAA clear? The FAA said it supports Boeing’s increase in 737 production from 42 to 47 aircraft per month after reviewing the company’s readiness. FlightGlobal reported the agency no longer requires Boeing to obtain formal approval for each production-rate increase, but it reviewed Boeing’s capstone results and said safety inspectors had examined the production lines. (cnbc.com) Kelly Ortberg said at a Bernstein investor conference on May 27, “We’ve passed the capstone review for rate 47, so we are now in the process of running the line at the 47-a-month rate.” He added that stabilizing at that level would “probably take us a few months.” ### Why was Boeing’s output constrained in the first place? (flightglobal.com) The FAA capped Boeing’s 737 production at 38 jets a month in January 2024 after a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines 737-9 MAX in flight. That cap became a central measure of the agency’s response to manufacturing and quality-control failures at Boeing and key suppliers. (cnbc.com) Boeing was later producing at 42 a month, and the latest increase marks the next step in that recovery. Ortberg said Boeing had started running the system at the higher rate before the capstone review to test whether the line was ready, and said the company had built in operational “slack” to manage bottlenecks. (flightglobal.com) ### How fast does Boeing want to go from here? Ortberg said Boeing is looking toward a rate of 52 aircraft a month after it stabilizes at 47. CNBC reported he said that move could take at least six months, if not longer, depending on when the newly approved pace is fully in effect. He also said Boeing would like eventually to reach 63 a month, though not until it can sustain higher output with its current safety and quality processes. (cnbc.com) FlightGlobal reported Boeing plans to raise output in increments of five aircraft a month, with each step coming roughly six months after the last. Ortberg said inventory should move closer to equilibrium when the company reaches 52 a month. (cnbc.com) ### Where do certification efforts for the MAX 7 and MAX 10 stand? Boeing said in its first-quarter results on April 22 that the 737-10 had begun Type Inspection Authorization 2, which it described as the final phase of certification flight testing. The company said it still expects certification of both the 737-7 and 737-10 in 2026, with first deliveries anticipated in 2027. (flightglobal.com) Aero News Journal reported on June 2 that the MAX 10’s current phase focuses on systems including avionics, propulsion, autopilot and the updated engine anti-ice solution. That report also said Boeing has completed about 80% of the required flight-test programs. (investors.boeing.com) ### What happens next? Boeing said it expects several months of stabilization at the 47-a-month rate before pursuing the next increase. The company’s next formal update is likely to come with second-quarter results, which MarketBeat lists for July 28, 2026, while Boeing has said certification of the 737-7 and 737-10 remains targeted for later in 2026 and first deliveries for 2027. (aeronewsjournal.com) (cnbc.com)